喜 | xǐ

In Mandarin Chinese, 喜 is a word with a number of meanings — and three similar but different pronunciations.

1. 喜 (Pinyin: xǐ 🔊)
   adj. happy, joyful, celebratory;
   n. pregnancy (that is, a happy event);
   v. to like, to love, to enjoy
2. 喜 (Pinyin: xī 🔊)
   1. Archaic form of 嬉 v. to enjoy, to play
   2. Alternative form of 熙 adj. bright, splendid, glorious
3. 喜 (Pinyin: chì), a variant form of 饎
   n. food
   v. to cook

According to Wiktionary, 喜 is an ideogrammic compound of 壴 “drum” and 口 “mouth”. In its turn, 壴 is said to be a pictogram of a “drum 口 with two ends, a base and feathers 土 on top”. It’s not clear what “two ends” refer to. Does it mean that the drum is placed horizontally? But historical forms of 喜 contain a variety of “drums” — some look like djembe and others like timpani.

Lawrence J. Howell writes in his Etymological Dictionary of Han/Chinese Characters:

As per 壴 as described in 鼓 (round drum set on a stand) + 口 mouth → joyful voices at a feast with musical accompaniment → joy; gladness; like; be fond of; pleasure; happiness → good; desirable; congratulations.

Food and samba: totally my kind of party.

An alternative form of this character, 憙, contains our old friend 心, “heart-mind”:

Combining 喜 with another word for joy, 乐, we get 喜乐 (xǐlè), which means, well, “joy”. Happy joy. Real joy. Not any old semblance of joy but, you know — joy joy.

Other compounds of 喜 include:

• 喜 + 爱 = 喜爱 (xǐ'ài): to like, to be fond of, to be keen on, to love
• 喜 + 好 = 喜好 (xǐhào): to like, to be fond of, to be keen on
• 喜 + 气 = 喜气 (xǐqì): cheerful atmosphere
• 喜 + 感 = 喜感 (xǐgǎn): (neologism) comical, funny, humorous
• 喜 + 雨 = 喜雨 (xǐyǔ): welcome rain (after a drought)
• 大 + 喜 = 大喜 (dàxǐ): (literary) very happy, overjoyed; good news; wedding

I just came across this beautiful poem attributed to Tsangyang Gyatso, 6^th Dalai Lama (1683—1706); some alternative translations are here.

你见，或者不见我 我就在那里 不悲不喜	Whether you see me or not I’m right here Not sad not glad
你念，或者不念我 情就在那里 不来不去	Whether you miss me or not The affection is right here Not rising not falling
你爱，或者不爱我 爱就在那里 不增不减	Whether you love me or not The love is right here No more no less
你跟，或者不跟我 我的手就在你手里 不离不弃	Whether you accompany me or not My hand is in yours Not clinging not giving
来我的怀里 或者让我住进你的心里 默然 相爱 寂静 欢喜	Come into my arms Or let me reside in your heart Love with serenity Rejoice in silence

More photos related to joy, happiness, hanzi and calligraphy @ Shutterstock.